Messaging services, such as services provided by email service providers, often provide a web interface (“webclient”) that allows users to interact with a mail server using a web browser. User connectivity to mail servers is facilitated by one or more web servers (typically Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) servers) that retrieve data in response to user web page requests. Mail servers and web servers are typically located in a data center or some other facility remote from the user. Redundancy is usually built into such systems, with redundant servers providing service in the event of a failure of a primary server and redundant communications links connected to the Internet to provide service in the event of a failure of one or more communications links.
When a user composes a message, such as an email message, using a webclient, data associated with the message, such as recipient addresses and text content, is saved locally inside the webclient. When the user sends the message or chooses to save a draft of the message, this data is sent to the mail server for saving and/or processing. In some systems, such message content is automatically saved periodically. A user may attach data (e.g., images, audio files, video files, etc.) to a message that is not saved in a webclient. Upon a failure of the web server servicing the webclient, or of the connection to the web server servicing the webclient, because this attachment data is not saved in the webclient, the attachment data may be lost.